Dr Sophie Harding begins new role as Consultant Pharmacist for Genomics & Pharmacogenomics

Genomics Partnership Wales are thrilled to announce the appointment of Dr Sophie Harding as Consultant Pharmacist for Genomics & Pharmacogenomics for Wales. Pharmacogenomics is the study of a person’s genetics to better understand how they may respond to medication. Working on an all-Wales level while based out of Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, Sophie will lead on the nationwide initiative which aims to successfully integrate pharmacogenomic testing into all areas of healthcare across Wales.

Within her new role, Sophie will work with a wide range of clinical and academic stakeholders to focus on the following key areas:

• The implementation of pharmacogenomic testing within routine clinical practice across all sectors
• The publication of a  Pharmacogenomics Delivery Plan, which will provide a roadmap to embed pharmacogenomics within routine clinical practice
• Ensuring the NHS workforce has the appropriate level of pharmacogenomic knowledge to support and treat patients in Wales
• Raising awareness of pharmacogenomics across Wales and share welsh developments collaboratively with other UK nations where possible

Sophie gained extensive, first-hand experience of pharmacogenomics in her previous position as a specialist cancer prescribing pharmacist, where she applied pharmacogenomic-based practice on a daily basis when requesting tests, reviewing tests results and utilising these results to inform prescribing decisions.

Sophie has previously co-led the implementation of pharmacogenomic testing both locally and nationally within Wales alongside senior multi-professional colleagues and has worked strategically across the UK within a pharmacogenomic leadership position for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Here, she advocated for the role of pharmacy in pharmacogenomics and built a clear picture of the genomic landscape across the UK, whilst also developing networking links between UK nations. More recently, Sophie co-led on the development of a strategic genomic workforce plan for Wales, with the aim of readying the workforce for the implementation of genomics within routine healthcare, with pharmacogenomics representing a key component of the plan.

Speaking to Genomics Partnership Wales, Sophie said:

“ I am motivated and committed to lead and aid the expansion of pharmacogenomic testing services to all sectors of healthcare. The use of pharmacogenomic testing aims to provide safe and tailored treatments routinely to all patients across Wales.”

Current research suggests that in helping us to understand the effectiveness of a medication for an individual, pharmacogenomics could reduce side effects by as much as 30%.  The use of routine pharmacogenomic testing within the NHS is likely to involve moving away from the current ‘one size fits all’ approach to a more tailored method of prescribing, which is safer and more effective for patients. Although more research is needed, pharmacogenomics is believed to offer many additional potential advantages to NHS services, such as reducing hospital admissions, reducing the number of hospital and GP visits, and reducing medicines wastage.